FDAMeeting on 'cultured' food products

fleischwirtschaft.com — USA, Washington. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a public meeting 12 July to gather comments and research on foods produced using animals’ cell culture technology.

The core focus of the meeting will be food safety, but FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., said in a statement that another mission of the agency is to foster development of novel food technologies.

“A key part of our mission is helping enable innovation and technological advances in the food sector, ensuring the safety of the products,” Gottlieb said. “As part of this mission, the FDA is constantly evaluating new areas of food innovation and establishing guidelines on how new technology can safely advance. One such area is the development of products that are intended to resemble conventional meat, poultry and seafood. These “cultured” products are generally made from cells collected from animals that are multiplied using non-traditional food technologies. These technologies could offer certain new opportunities over conventionally developed food products.”

Cultured cell technology as a method of food production raises questions from a technical and regulatory standpoint, Gottlieb said. The agency intends for the public meeting to be forum to discuss opportunities and challenges cultured cell technology presents.